Business elite wait for the herd to thin

Tuesday, July 23, 2013 -- Anonymous (not verified)

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Local Coverage

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Author(s):

Chris Cassidy

From businessman Jack Connors to developer John Fish to Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino, Patriots owner Robert Kraft and concessionaire Joseph O’Donnell, many of the city’s top power brokers are playing it safe in the mayor’s race — but leaving the crowded field of candidates hanging in the balance at a crucial time in the election.

A Herald review of the latest campaign finance reports found that Connors, Fish, Lucchino, Kraft and O’Donnell have yet to contribute to any of the dozen candidates running to replace Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

“Most of the business community are waiting to see, really, how the candidacies develop,” said former city councilor Michael McCormack. “The last thing you want to do is solidly get behind a candidate and see that candidate fail. Business people are just waiting to see which candidates take off and which ones don’t.”

Business leaders, like average voters, are subject to the $500 maximum donation per candidate, but they also boast the extensive contacts to organize fundraisers that can bundle tens of thousands of dollars in donations at a single pop.

Those large infusions of money could make the difference in a congested field of candidates — many of them starved for cash — just two months before the make-or-break preliminary election in September.

“Fundraising is key and in order to emerge as a top-tier candidate and establish viability, the ability to raise money has to be there,” said John Nucci, a Suffolk University vice president.

With the Hub’s first vacant mayoral seat in 20 years, the stakes are high for developers, bankers and other business chieftains to get behind the candidate that will eventually win.

But while a would-be kingmaker stands to get a big reward for backing a successful candidate early on, there’s also a risk in sitting on the sidelines too long even if you endorse the eventual winner.

“If you’re heavy enough of a hitter, there’s no risk at all in waiting — you’ll be welcome with open arms whenever you decide to commit,” said Nucci, who believes the race will narrow to four or five candidates right after Labor Day. “The difference will be being in the front row as opposed to further back of the pack if you wait too long.”

Larry DiCara, who ran for mayor in 1983, said the current landscape is a far cry from the days of the Coordinating Committee, aka The Vault, the secretive conclave of downtown business leaders who often banded to back one mayoral candidate.

“Unlike when the Coordinating Committee existed, there’s no speaking with one voice,” DiCara said. “I’m not sure some of these folks will participate even in the stretch.”